Licking Flames
by insideimasadrainbow
Summary: Natsu Dragneel's life becomes a violent whirlwind. Music is his only release. Song!fic/Band!fic Gray/Natsu other pairs. M sucky summary
1. Prologue

**A/N: **-deep breath- HI PEOPLES! I'm waving at you enthusiastically through my laptop right now, you can wave back~ any who, as you can see I'm back with a new improved Licking Flames. At least I'm aiming for improved... I liked the other version until it slipped off the right track on how I wanted it to go. So, here I try again because I like this story, it's great in my head and I dang will try my best to show you all what I mean.

As for the rest of my stories, they are slowly in the works. Turtle slow. So love me? Bear with me? I'm about to get caught up in college and dance so I might be terrible for posting this because who knows how long the updates will be. Like I said though, I've had this story in mind for a good long year and some months and I'm really happy that I finally started it. So I'm sticking to it no matter what.

A couple of notes: This is still a songfic! And it's still Gratsu! And it's going to be angst filled for the first few chapters. It's rated M for a reason and Natsu forever remains as Gray's submissive baby! Characters might be OC later on, I really can't say but I'll add that to the list anyway.

And the most important thing to know is that I do NOT own Fairy Tail. : )

-enjoy-

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><p><strong>Licking Flames<strong>

**-Prologue-**

The baby boy cried as he was carefully wheeled out of the hospital room. His little body yearned for his mother's warmth instead of the uncomfortable cart he was bundled on, but the poor thing wouldn't know until later on in life that he was now without a mother.

The medical people in the room felt defeated. In this tragic situation, it was clear that only one could be saved. By the mother's plea and wishes, it was the baby boy they saved. If only both lives could be spared. One of the nurses wiped the stream of tears off of her cheeks. Anything can happen during a pregnancy, she knew this. That didn't change the fact that it was still heartbreaking when soon to be mothers die giving birth.

With a heavy heart, the nurse helped the others clean up before someone would come and retrieve the body. Meanwhile, the doctor, also with a heavy heart, went out to give the woman's husband the awful news.

They had sent him out of the room when everything went downhill. The doctor found the nervous looking man pacing in the waiting room. His heart grew heavier at the sight.

"Mr. Dragneel." the doctor spoke, catching the man's attention.

Mr. Dragneel looked even more of a nervous wreck as he came over to hear the doctor out. And what was told to him made his once pounding heart freeze cold. Mr. Dragneel slumped down on his knees and shakily brought his hands to his pasty colored face. "N-no.." he shook his head disbelievingly and gasped. "Sh-she can't be- not Surya, please god no, not S-Surya-"

And this was one thing the doctor abhorred about his job. Giving bad news to his patients or loved ones to the patients. Eleven years of this and he still can't stand to see them fall apart right in front of him.

"Words can't express how terribly sorry I am for your loss, Mr. Dragneel. We did everything we could but in the end there could only be one. Understand it was her wish for your son to live." the doctor paused, staring down at Mr. Dragneel with sad eyes. The aforementioned was well known in Magnolia. He was a respected man by everyone, and when news came around that he and his wife, Surya, were expecting a child, everyone in the town celebrated. In a softer voice he finished, "And understand that, if within my power and possible, I would bring her back this second if only I could. Surya was a wonderful woman and will always be remembered."

The doctor rested a warm hand on Mr. Dragneel's shoulder and squeezed gently. Mr. Dragneel brought his hand up and patted the other man's hand though his face was still a chalky paste color. "Wh-.. Where is he?" Mr. Dragneel rasped out and looked up at the doctor.

The doctor was glad that no one was in the lobby at this time so no one could see Mr. Dragneel look so lost. Carefully, the doctor pulled the kneeling man up from the ground. "Come with me."

...

Mr. Dragneel peered inside the small see through box where his son lay fidgeting. Wrapped up in a blue blanket, the baby looked like a rolled up pink blob. His face was scrunched up and his eyes were closed. Mr. Dragneel leaned closer for a better look.

"He's eight pounds even, the sucker." the doctor was telling Mr. Dragneel fondly. His eyes were still sad but he was happy that the baby was close to the father now. Looking at Mr. Dragneel, the doctor noticed he held a far off gaze expression as he stared at his son.

The baby continued to fidget underneath his blanket and Mr. Dragneel gently placed his large hand on the the glass. As if there was a connection, the baby stopped. His little body seemed to relax and he finally slept soundly.

Mr. Dragneel smiled strangely.

"If I'm not mistaken, his name is Natsu, correct?" the doctor didn't see the strange smile Mr. Dragneel wore due to the fact he was staring down at a clipboard that suddenly was in his hands. By the time he looked at Mr. Dragneel, the smile was gone.

"Yes. His full name is Natsu Ren Dragneel."

The doctor jotted this down on his clipboard and continued to jot while Mr. Dragneel continued to stare at his son. He looked calmer than before but inside he was a conflicted raging storm. He felt a burning pride that this was his baby.

And then he felt a burning rage because this baby was what all he had now of his wife.

Once everything was finalized, the doctor explained to Mr. Dragneel that after a week of monitoring Natsu, he would be able to take him home. Mr. Dragneel just nodded. "Before I leave, I would like to see her."

The doctor looked solemn but in the end he lead Mr. Dragneel to the room. Asking a passing nurse to see if Surya was still inside and recieved a 'yes', the doctor opened the door for Mr. Dragneel and watched him enter with sad eyes.

...

The room smelled heavily of disinfect but Mr. Dragneel didn't care. He went straight up to his dead wife lying on the hospital bed so small and frail. It was crazy to him how only 11 hours earlier was she screaming at him that her water broke. Now she was still, her long flower pink hair strewn around her like waves. Her skin still held the soft tan color but the glow to it was already fading. Her eyes were closed and as he stared down at her, Mr. Dragneel pitifully wished that she was only sleeping. But her chest did not rise and her breath did not move the air in gentle tuffs.

Mr. Dragneel knelt down next to her and gently touched her face. She is still so beautiful, he thought longingly. Long thick lashes brushed her high cheekbones and her pink lips were closed together gently. He stared at them, desperately wanting her to call his name, hear her musical voice. Tears began to form at the word musical. She had such a beautiful voice. In general, but when she sang. Oh god, how he wished she would sing right now. That would calm him down. He wiped the tears and imagined her now- alive and well, singing to him as they lay tangled together. She would finish her song and he would ask for more.

She would laugh her bell like laugh and say, "Inigo, there's only so much my voice can take!" but she would go into another song because she knows as well as he does that she'll sing until her voice is gone.

Once Inigo returned home, he went straight to the bedroom and climbed in the bed fully clothed. He never went to sleep, just stared up at the ceiling from the time he got in bed until the following morning.

It was funny, the bad funny, and very frightening how one day your life can get turned upside down so quickly. Here Inigo thought that he would raise his son with his wife, that they'd be a happy family. But now... they won't.

And Inigo doesn't think he'll ever be happy again. Surya was his other half, his soul mate. They were high school sweethearts and titled Magnolia's Power Couple. Surya was his one and only, the one he was going to grow old with and die with. They were going to grow their own family but now... none of it will ever happen.

Inigo jolted up and grasped his chest. It was hard to breathe and his vision was growing blurry. "Why?" he gasped out. "Why?!"

The man collapsed on the bed and curled in on himself. For the rest of the day and that night, until the next morning he laid there not moving, unseeing, and muttering 'why' to himself.


	2. 1

**A/N: **I'm so sorry this took forever. I had it all written up right after the prologue but I kept adjusting things and rewriting this and that and ugh! But I think it paid off so I hope you all enjoy. I want take a minute to explain Inigo. Yeah, he's still an asshole and the brief antagonist in LF but keep in mind he lost the most precious person to him. I know eventually, when we lose someone important to us, we move on. But some people don't and that's okay. What's not okay is to take it out on someone, like physical abuse. Which is why Inigo remains an asshole. I do try to make him be a good father and have you all see him struggling with that so I hope it shows.

If you don't remember who Beth Vanderwood is or Risely Law, they're members of Mermaid Heel.

**Quick important note**: Do you guys remember how the FT guild looks like during the 7 year time skip? Okay, so that's the FT preschool. The original FT guild hall back in season 1 is for all three elementary, middle, and high school. Three separate buildings if that makes sense. It's explained more in the story. As for the new and improve FT guild, that's going to be the FT University. Just because I'm too lazy to make up my own. Hopefully that makes sense, and if not, well, go ahead and read. I'm gonna assume you all know what the guilds look like so it won't be explained further. Again, I'm lazy. :P

p.s my dog is okaaaay :)

p.p.s thanks for the reviews! :D

p.p.p.s college is kicking my butt ;/

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><p><strong>Licking Flames<strong>

**-1-**

**5 Years Later**

"Daddy daddy daddy! Can we go to the park?" an energetic bundle of pink hopped around 31 year old Inigo who, in looks, did not age much during the passing years. The man still had his inky black hair in wild spikes and pitch black eyes. He was well built, standing at 6'2 and still tan. He was still the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome but his eyes lost life and he rarely smiled anymore. He was a great pretender fooling everyone that the smile he offers is not the same as it was five years ago.

What did change, though, was the bubbly ball of pink that went everywhere Inigo went.

Natsu Ren Dragneel was now five years old and more energized than the pink bunny. He turned out to be a very cute child. Everyone tells Inigo that when Natsu is older, he'll be a severe lady _slayer_. It only made sense since the boy came from two very attractive people.

Natsu had his mother's hair color but his father's hair natural spiky style. Since both Surya and Inigo had midnight colored orbs, Natsu inherited an even more darker ink color for his eyes. As of now, the boy still had his baby face but Inigo saw that his son was getting a lot of his mother. Her nose, her mouth, her cheekbones. Even, to Inigo's surprise, her voice.

Countless times the father found his son humming or singing. Obviously Natsu wasn't good, he was still a child. But as he will grow, so will his voice, and Inigo is almost certain that he'll have an angels voice just as his mother did.

With all the genes he inherited from Surya, Inigo could only hope that Natsu would get his height genes. Surya wasn't tall, at all, and although Natsu was a pretty chunky baby (he was a roll of fat to be honest), he's slimmed down quite a bit and was a little on the short side.

Again, Inigo could only hope.

At the moment, Inigo was in his home office finishing up a project. He'd began taking up more hours after Surya's death but, with his checks and her share (she had been just as much of a hard worker as him), hiring a babysitter was not an issue.

But during the growing years, Inigo began to find it difficult to wake up every morning and get ready for his day. At times he'd just want to end right then and there. Surya's death was not forgotten, it would always be fresh in his mind. It honestly didn't help that Natsu looked so much like her, either.

So the man begun to do his work from his home office. Seeing as he was the boss of his company, he got away with it without it being a problem. He still gave projects to his workers, still paid them fairly, and if it was urgent for him to be present, still attended meetings. But mostly he did those over electronics or his laptop.

Day by day it was just getting harder for Inigo. The way he acted towards his son at times, the way he felt, it wasn't good, not in a way a father should feel for his own child. A rough day for Inigo would mean that Natsu gets ignored for the whole day. But he couldn't help it..

It wasn't Natsu's fault, yet in a sense, in Inigo's eyes, it was. He was the cause of Surya's death, and in return, he's alive instead of her. That burned Inigo up inside.

Natsu pulled at his father's plush rolling chair but didn't that far. The chair was too large and it was weighed down with a large man sitting on it. Puffing and huffing Natsu plopped down on the soft carpet ground and stared up at his father with his large eyes. The black orbs gleamed alight with excitement.

Inigo, staring back with his blank eyes, felt a sudden urge to black out the irritating glow to his son's eyes. "I'm busy Natsu." Inigo's voice was chill but Natsu didn't notice.

"Please daddy? I'm bored at home!" the pinkette flopped on his back before rolling around on the carpet. "I'm bored I'm bored I'm bored!"

Inigo narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Cut that out Natsu, you'll ruin your clothes. Go outside and play, I have to work." Inigo turned back to his open laptop and promptly ignored Natsu even though the boy was begging to be taken to the park.

That was another thing Natsu inherited from Surya: stubbornness. Until Surya had her way, she did whatever she had to to get Inigo on board with her. In the end Inigo would cave in. And he couldn't be mad at her, she would wear her goofy little triumph smile.

But now, Inigo was getting angry. It was the pent up anger that made him see red and lose himself for the next minute. Natsu's body jolted before he was flung harshly on the ground once more, his lips busted and his eyes wide and watery.

Inigo stood over Natsu, his eyes wide as he looked at his hands and then at his son. Natsu's lip trembled and before Inigo could get Natsu's name off his lips, the boy was crying and running out of the room.

Cursing, Inigo ran after his son, catching him in the long hallway. Natsu cried louder when he felt his father's arms wrap around him and hug him back against him. The child didn't know what to do but in the end he turned in his father's embrace and gripped the man with tiny fists.

Inigo felt the wild heartbeat of his son and, with a start, realized that it was his own heart racing. Natsu shook in his arms but he was alert, and tense. His eyes were wide and slightly fearful. Inigo pulled away so he could look down at his son and examined the cut. Natsu went still when his father gently touched the split lip.

Natsu's eyes were wide and slightly fearful. Inigo tried to ignore that and muttered quietly, "Let's go clean this up."

He stood up and made his way to the bathroom at the end of the hall. Natsu silently followed.

...

The incident was forgiven but not forgotten. It took some time but Natsu loosened up around his father again and when he had, it was time for him to attend preschool.

Fiore is a large, famous country that holds many unique towns and cities and one of the towns is Magnolia, one of the largest towns in Fiore. People born and raised in Magnolia keep close like family- a very large family. Inigo and Surya, before her passing, both had Magnolia blood flowing in them. They had, like many of the people in Magnolia, attended Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail is Magnolia's best school and the top school in Fiore. Fairy Tail is actually split into five sections. One for preschool, one for elementary, one for middle, and one for high school. Fairy Tail University is the last but it isn't connected to the others.

Inigo and Surya went to all of Fairy Tail and now Natsu was enrolled on the same route. The boy was excited. He was going to play and make friends and eat snacks!

The boy wiggled in his booster seat happily as Inigo drove him to the preschool. "Daddy! You and mommy went here too, right?"

That wasn't the first time Natsu mentioned his mother but Inigo still froze at the thought of Surya, his hands gripping the wheel tighter. He chose not to answer his son and pulled in the parking lot for the preschool. Natsu was too eager to realize his question wasn't answered. He unbuckled himself and threw open the door. Leaping out, Natsu's spiky hair wavered in the blowing wind and his big round eyes stared up at his new school building gleefully.

Fairy Tail Preschool was its own building, as were the others. Except for the University, Fairy Tail's elementary, middle, and high school were connected together, placed in a spaced out diamond shape. The preschool was a smaller building than the other three and it had a more child like aura surrounding it. Natsu couldn't contain his excitement.

Inigo grabbed his son's fire breathing dragon bag (because Natsu had a thing for dragons) and made his way to the sidewalk. Natsu trotted after, a wide grin on his baby face.

Inigo felt nostalgic as he entered the building. Memories flashed in his mind from all the times he spent here as a kid. This was where he met Surya. His chest tightened and he had to get out.

"Well if it isn't Inigo Dragneel." a male's voice came from behind the father and son. Inigo turned around (Natsu did not, he was too busy looking around excitedly) to face a large man with flaming auburn hair falling over broad shoulders in layered spikes. Familiar mischief hazel eyes twinkled underneath thick auburn brows.

Inigo forced out a smile but having known him for so long, Igneel Flame was not fooled by the falseness of it. The two men had grown up together with Surya and Igneel's brother, Atlas. The four had been a group full of mischief and known by everyone. They had all been very close back then, but after graduating from Fairy Tail University, they had split up. It was clear that Inigo and Surya were going to conquer the world as a pair and while Igneel, who had harbored feelings for her, couldn't have been any happier for the couple.

Atlas had gone off to Veronica, a small country north of Fiore to pursue his law career. Igneel did the same but he remained in Fiore, years later becoming the Chief of Magnolia. His brother was also Chief of a small town in Veronica. Inigo and Surya had also stayed behind in Magnolia, slowly but surely making their way to the top in their business. They were like an unstoppable force, the group of four childhood friends, even when separated.

That is until Surya's death occurred. Everyone mourned over the woman. When news reached Atlas, he couldn't believe it. Igneel, who'd broken the news to his brother, _still _couldn't believe it. The only good news was that Natsu had survived. While that was something to be happy for, little did they all know that Inigo was the one least happy.

Igneel walked up, looking flashy (and intimidating) as ever in his crisp Chief uniform. He was loved by many, even those in neighboring towns. Igneel was witty, he was funny, he was kind, and anyone who came across him would be added to the list of his many many allies and friends. It was funny, even after all the years that had passed, Inigo and Igneel still held a silent rivalry with each other.

Inigo studied his former friend as he walked towards him. Despite them sticking together for so long as they grew up, it was clear that the only reason why these two men tolerated each other was because of Surya. Now that she was gone, Inigo didn't see why he and Igneel should; they hardly see one another to begin with, both handling their jobs and such.

"How has the years been treating you, old friend?" Igneel asked, eyes still twinkling.

Inigo kept the fake smile on his face and replied, "They're getting better."

"I'm glad to hear that. Natsu is growing up I see." Igneel looked over at Natsu who was gawking up at the ceiling. He quirked a bushy brow in amusement.

Natsu pointed up. "Daddy daddy daddy! Look! Dragons!" the boy squealed excitedly before rushing back to his father. Inigo glanced up, ignoring Natsu tugging on his work pants. Sure enough, there were different colored paper dragons littering the ceiling.

Igneel smiled at Natsu who kept beaming. "No way kid, you like dragons too?" the Chief asked. Natsu grinned and nodded at Igneel. Then Natsu blinked as he stared at the Chief, for he had not noticed this large strange man come in. Not only that, but the man also liked dragons? Natsu's grin slowly reappeared. He didn't care if he didn't know the man, they both liked dragons and that's a friend in Natsu's eyes.

He began to talk Igneel's ears off about all types of dragons, not that Igneel minded. He just grinned and nodded, commented when he was asked a question by Natsu. Inigo on the other hand was growing rather irritated. It was too early in the morning for this and he needed to get to work. It was one of those rare days where he went in the office instead of staying home.

"Things never change with you two." a gentle female's voice chimed in the air. Natsu finally took a breather from talking and looked around for the new speaker. Igneel and Inigo looked to the right where a short woman appeared from a hallway. Both men immediately straightened up and bowed their heads simultaneously in respect.

"Principal Vermillion." they murmured. The Principal chuckled softly and waved her tiny hand as she made her way over to the group trio.

"No need to be so formal Chief, Inigo. As soon as I recognized the voices of my old students, I had to come out to say hello." the woman smiled sweetly down at Natsu who had been staring at her in amazement since she first appeared. "And who do we have here?"

Natsu suddenly grew shy and he gravitated towards his father. Inigo shook Natsu's shoulder and said, "Introduce yourself."

Natsu stared at the woman whose sweet smile never dropped. "N-Natsu Ren Dragneel."

Igneel had to cough in his arm to hide his smile while Inigo stared down at his son. The woman however nodded and offered her hand to the shy boy. She knew who he was, the son of her favorite student of all. The woman's heart tightened at the thought of Surya. Natsu was starting to look so much like her, too. "It's lovely to meet you Natsu Ren Dragneel. My name is Mavis Vermillion. Is it alright with you if I could just call you 'Natsu'?" she received an affirmative nod. Natsu took hold of her hand and she shook them together before letting go.

"Is it true that you like dragons?" Mavis asked Natsu whose face lit up at the mention of his favorite mythology creatures.

"Yes! I love dragons!"

Mavis smiled before glancing up at Inigo. "If you need to go, I'll gladly take Natsu where he needs to be. He's a little early but so are a few others. He's in Beth Vanderwood's class."

Inigo nodded. Even if he didn't know that, it wouldn't be hard to locate Natsu. The preschool was fairly small, only having two classrooms, a lunch room, a library, an office (for Mavis when she was at the preschool), restrooms, and a playground. If Natsu wasn't in Ms. Vanderwood's class, then he'd be in Risely Law's room.

"Then I'll be off. Natsu, here's your bag. Be good." Inigo finished his instruction off with patting Natsu on the head once. He bid good bye to Igneel and Mavis before taking his leave.

Natsu waved with one hand, his other holding his small dragon bag. "Bye daddy!"

Mavis, noticing the bag, giggled. To Igneel she mused, "He really loves dragons." To Natsu, she asked, "Do you know why we have dragons all over the ceiling?" the boy shook his head, eyes growing wide. "Well, right now everyone is learning about Mythology. And dragons are a big part of what we're learning about. Maybe you can help teach some of the others on dragons."

"Yes!" Natsu pumped up his fists in the air, grinning wildly. Igneel and Mavis laughed.

"Let's get going then." she smiled. "Oh! Chief? Was there a reason you were here?"

Igneel grinned and Mavis was reminded of the earlier years when Igneel was a rowdy teen, giving her the exact smile now than back that when he was caught doing a mischief prank. The Chief pulled out a small box with a bow on it. "I might not be here anymore but that doesn't mean I don't remember my principal's birthday."

Mavis was shocked as she stared at the gift. "I know I'm a few days late but work was out for me this week. Here." Igneel offered her the present and she accepted it with a watery smile. Igneel's eyes widened. "No no no, do not start you-know-what!" he laughed when she began to sniffle and patted her gently on the shoulder. "Have a good day Ms. Vermillion." looking down at Natsu, who'd been witnessing the short sweet act, Igneel offered him a closed fist.

"Have a good day too, dragon buddy. Hit me kid." It took Natsu a minute but he finally understood and fist bumped the Chief. They both wore matching grins making Mavis smile.

"Alright, I'm gone."

"Good bye Chief." Mavis said, voice soft.

"Bye bye Chief!" Natsu waved enthusiastically and Igneel returned it before walking out the glass door. It silent for a moment before Natsu looked up with wide eyes at Mavis. "What's a 'chief'?" he asked innocently.

Mavis laughed, the sound warming the air around them. She offered her hand to the boy who took it before launching in a simple explanation on what Igneel did and what his job title meant as she lead him down a hall towards his classroom.

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><p>Natsu curled in a tight ball underneath his covers, tears streaming down his face. He had both of his small hands covering a swelling eye. It stung and crying didn't help the pain but Natsu couldn't help it. His father struck him after dinner tonight and all because... well, Natsu didn't know why. He had been in the middle of sharing his super fun day at preschool when suddenly he was skidding across the dining room floor. He was confused and scared and had bolted for his room after he was hit.<p>

A sniffle was heard from under the covers. Natsu blinked tearfully. Why had daddy hit him?

...

Inigo was slumped down in his chair, hands covering his face. He was lent forward slightly with his elbows on the edge of the table.

He had done it again. But he couldn't help it. All he saw was black. Black rage.

Natsu was going on and on about his day like Surya used to do when she came home from an excited day at work. It was scary how much Natsu took after his mother and it angered Inigo, it angered him that it was Natsu in place of Surya. That the boy didn't seem to have a care in the world that the only reason why he was alive was due to his mother who sacrificed herself for his life. For him to wear that overly happy grin that belonged to Surya's, it all angered Inigo.

And he lost control. He hadn't meant to but that was the problem- he didn't feel bad for throwing his large fist into his son's face, knocking him out of his chair and flying across the floor. He had watched his son lay there stunned before he stumbled up to his feet, tears already making their way down his cheeks. Natsu had ran away to his room but unlike the last time, Inigo stayed where he was.

Now he finally pulled himself out of the chair and sluggishly put away the dirty dishes before making his way to his own room. Once inside, he stripped off his clothes and slid in the bed.

He turned the lights off but never fell asleep.

...

Natsu was having trouble sleeping. He had preschool tomorrow and wondered if he should tell someone... but wouldn't that get daddy in trouble? He didn't want to get anyone in trouble. The boy squeezed his eyes closed and let out a silent whimper.

What was he supposed to do?

* * *

><p>The next morning Inigo had Natsu in the bathroom fixing up the boy's bruised eye as best as he could. "If anyone says anything about this you tell them we went to the park yesterday and you hurt yourself on the jungle gym. Got it?"<p>

Natsu nodded mutely, not meeting his father's eyes. Inigo stared down at his son. "Look at me Natsu." Hesitantly Natsu did what he was told. Inigo lurched down at his son threateningly who flinched, large eyes closing in fear. Natsu waited for pain but when it never came, he opened his eyes to find his father gone. The sound of heavy footsteps going down the stairs told Natsu where his father went.

With his heart thudding rapidly in his chest, the small pinkette left the bathroom and made his way down the stairs.

...

Ms. Beth (the kids call her that instead of Ms. Vanderwood since no one could pronounce it) was concerned when she saw Natsu and his injured eye. The boy explained to her that he had hurt himself at the park yesterday.

Natsu was relieved when she didn't pester him too much about it. But that was the only good thing that happened to Natsu. Since his eye looked strange, scary even, to the rest of the kids, no one played with him. Natsu tried playing with a group of boys he played with yesterday but they refused. And it was raining so they couldn't go outside.

When he asked where Principal Mavis was, Ms. Beth told him that she was in the high school for the rest of the week. Mavis is the founder of Fairy Tail and she spends her time floating at each one, including the university. She has an office at all of them. Natsu was sad to say the least. Why had yesterday been such a good day but not today?

Natsu sat by himself on a little red plastic chair near the window. He stared out the glass watching the rain fall down with round sad eyes. Hopefully tomorrow would be better.

* * *

><p><strong>3 Years Later<strong>

Yajima and his wife stood outside the Dragneel's home wearing concerned frowns on their old faces. It was late at night, nearing almost ten, and the Dragneel's neighbors had heard loud commotion from the dark, and now quiet, house. The block they lived on all the houses were built close together so when the old couple began to hear loud crashes and bangs coming from the house next door, they came to investigate.

Yajima felt something was wrong as he stood on the doorstep while his wife rapped on the door a third time. The feeling wasn't a stranger for the old man either; ever since Surya's death, Yajima saw the change in Inigo, a change that didn't seem good.

Having already retired, Yajima hardly ever leaves his home. He does a lot of yard work and owns a beautiful garden in the backyard. One day while he was tending to his garden, he heard the Dragneels returning home. There was a car door slamming shut and hissed voices and a cry of pain. Yajima had gone to see what had happened and found Natsu standing in his driveway cupping his nose.

"Son, are you alright?" Yajima had asked, voice laced with concern. Natsu had jumped, startled out of his mind before turning to face the old man standing at the end of the driveway.

"Oh yes, everything is fine Mr. Yajima! I gotta go, lots of homework to do!" and with a one hand wave, Natsu had disappeared inside his house.

That had been a few months ago and Yajima frowned at the memory. The boy clearly had not been fine. Yajima may be old but his hearing is still good and he's not blind yet, so it was easy for him to see that Natsu had been covering up a bloody nose.

There were other times Yajima saw the boy injured in some type of way. When the boy was six, he had a cracked tooth and a split lip. He claimed he had fell from the jungle gym at the park. As stated before, Yajima is always home now since he's retired. Besides gardening, the elder man usually takes two walks a day. He has a route he goes by and on the route he passes the neighborhood park which is the only near park. When Natsu explained his injury to him, Yajima was puzzled to say the least because the park was under construction at the time.

Recently, Natsu began walking with a limp. When asked about it, the boy had stuttered before limping quickly away, calling out a hasty farewell over his shoulder. Why had the boy avoided Yajima's question?

Yajima took a turn at knocking the door. He wore a grim expression, for his gut was clenching with a horrible conclusion.

"Honey-"

His wife didn't finish her sentence because a child's scream drowned her words out.

Yajima's fear was confirmed and he quickly fished out their house phone which he had with him from the start just in case.

...

Inside the Dragneel's home, eight year old Natsu ran for his life. He sprinted down the stairs and ignored the pain coursing through his legs where his father had kicked them. Tears blinded his vision and his heart hammered in his chest. His left cheek was cut and stung from the salty tears that trickled over it. One of his fingers was snapped awkwardly and there was severe pain coming from his right side. Still, Natsu tried his best to ignore it all and focused on getting away from his father.

Natsu didn't understand why his father was hurting him like this. He didn't know what he did! Natsu's mind went back to almost an hour ago when the both of them were in the living room watching television. His father was sitting on the couch and he was on the carpet ground trying to fix a math problem. Finally, after being stuck on it for more than ten minutes, Natsu caved and hesitantly asked for help from Inigo.

...

It was that right there that had made Inigo snap. He was never going to move on from Surya's death, not even after eight long years. He tried to care for Natsu but he didn't want Natsu, he wanted his beautiful wife. His beautiful, intelligent, kind, funny wife.

Not this little boy.

Not anymore.

Inigo's world went black.

...

Natsu didn't have time to move away before the large fist knocked him backwards. Too stunned to do anything, Natsu was assaulted again, this time with a heavy leg. His head whipped to the side with a short crack, making him gasp, eyes large with pain and fear. Quickly he touched the mark but not for long because his father snagged his hand and bent a finger back sharply. "OW!" Natsu shrieked before snatching his hand back. He was grabbed by the front of his shirt and yanked up roughly. Staring up at his father's face, Natsu paled with horror. That wasn't his father. That was a monster.

Natsu let out a piercing scream when he was thrown across the room and crashed into the table with a lamp on it. Both boy and furniture fell to the ground. Luckily the lamp didn't break due to the carpet but it was still painful. Natsu stumbled up to his feet as quickly as possible when he saw his father coming for him.

...

Kill him.

Kill him.

...

Natsu scrambled away from the room and went for the stairs. He took two at a time, slipping three times before reaching the landing. He fled for his room but didn't make it to the door before hands grabbed him from behind. "NOOO! Let me go! Let me go!" the boy screamed. He sobbed when he was jerked around like a doll before getting shoved harshly towards the floor. He landed on his elbow with a sickening crack and cried.

...

Don't need him.

Don't want him.

...

Natsu wheezed and coughed from the exert of running like a mad man. Still, he forced himself on his feet and flew down the stairs. He reached the hall to the front doorway but that was it before his father snatched him by the throat and shoved him against the wall. Natsu cried, tears streaming down his puffy red face as he was lifted off the ground. His air circulation was cutting off fast and his vision was beginning to form black dots.

"D-daddy-" he choked out. The strong grip around his neck constricted further. Natsu's nose began to trickled blood. "S-s-stop!" he rasped out weakly.

...

Dark, empty eyes stared at the bruised up child. Fingers tightened.

Kill kill kill.

Don't need him.

Don't want-

**CRASH!**

...

Natsu fell to the floor in a heap. He did not move or his body would flare up in unbearable pain. Faintly he could hear yelling, screaming, cursing.

His eyes were closed in slits and they stared at the wall.

The blurry wall...

* * *

><p><strong>4 Months Later<strong>

"I don't want to go." Natsu mumbled.

"I know." Chief Igneel replied. He didn't want Natsu to go either. He wanted the boy to live with him but they couldn't.

Natsu peered up at the looming house. He stuck his tongue out at it before curling up in his seat. "I wanna stay with you. You're my only family I have left, don't leave me here." the last part was a whisper.

"Kid, you think I want to leave you here on your own? Because I don't." Igneel leaned back in the car's seat and stared at the boy on the passenger side. Natsu made himself look even smaller curled up like that. A sad pout rested on the boy's mouth.

"You're the Chief!"

"That doesn't make me King, kid. I still have to follow the rules. Even if they do suck."

Natsu closed his eyes and didn't say anything else. Igneel studied the boy, his heart heavy for him for having to go through everything that he's been through. After the incident with Inigo, Natsu was rushed to the hospital with various injuries. His most severe injury was his two broken ribs. That costed him two months in the hospital, not counting the one month he spent for his other injuries. And then a long month of every kind of therapy session the doctors threw at him. The town was in an uproar when it got out that Natsu had been abused by Inigo for some years now. As for Inigo himself, he was locked away and lost the respect of everyone in Magnolia.

What was the worst of it all though, was finding out he was being put in a boys' home. Natsu through a fit. He wanted to stay with Chief Igneel if he had no place to go! During the years Natsu and Igneel had formed a tight bond to the point where, when Inigo was still around, Natsu secretly thought Igneel as his daddy. It made sense to the 8 year old that he'd go live with Igneel but no. He was now parent-less and being thrown into a boys' home.

"Alright, kid. This won't be so bad. I'll visit you a lot and you're still going to Fairy Tail so it's not all bad."

"Yes it is." Natsu mumbled. Igneel sighed.

"Natsu, look at me." Natsu opened his eyes and stared at the Chief. "It _will _get better." there was so much seriousness in Igneel's eyes that Natsu felt there was a little bit of hope. "I promise."

Natsu held out his small hand. All fingers were straight once more. He extended his pinky. "You have to pinky swear promise me."

Igneel smiled and wrapped his much larger pinky finger around Natsu's. "I pinky swear promise you Natsu, that everything will get better."

Their interlocked pinkies fell away after a moment and Natsu sucked in a breath. He was nervous. Nervous about moving a new home, especially when the outside world hasn't seen him since that awful day. Would people ask questions? Would people want to know everything? Most likely. And he wasn't prepared for any of that.

But Igneel said everything would be better so he had to try.

"Okay." Natsu said while slowly sitting up. He stared out the window looking at his 'new home' for the next how long ever and steeled himself. "I'm ready."


	3. 2

**A/N: **Hello all! After a month or something, I'm finally done with chapter 2. I hope you all enjoy, there are new characters introduced and questioning relationships built already. I do love hearing from you all and even if I don't reply to you, you have put a smile on my face. I hope people stick with this, I do warn you that it's a slow building story, so if I can deal with it (because we all know I love to rush shit), then YOU have to deal with it. Only if you love me though. If not, the EXIT is the back button. : )

IF THERE ARE ANY ERRORS (which there always are) I'M ONLY HUMAN. YES, THAT IS MY DEFENSE. and I shall stick with it to the end.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Licking Flames<strong>

**2**

**6 Years Later**

Two boys were huddled together in the backyard away from the world, off in their own sad one.

14 year old Natsu Dragneel hugged the trembling boy in his arms more tightly. "Zeref."

Midnight eyes met one another; one pair was dry and the other watery with tears. Natsu brushed the tears away with his thumbs before gently clasping the boy's face between his hands. "It's going to be okay. You've dreamed about this, remember?"

The boy, Zeref, shook his head and with trembling lips, said, "Yes, b-but I don't want to l-leave you!" Zeref grabbed a hold of Natsu's black t-shirt and stammered, "I c-can't do that to you!"

While Natsu was touched by the boy's words, he shook his head and gently removed Zeref's hands from his shirt. Lacing their hands together, Natsu smiled softly, stunning the other boy into silence.

Zeref's heart thumped in his chest as he stared at the pink haired boy. Natsu never thought of his looks, but Zeref always let him know that he was 'pretty'. Especially when he smiled. But Natsu hardly ever smiled, so when he did Zeref was always awestruck. Natsu's smile truthfully brightened up his world. Natsu _i_s his world. A new batch of tears began to form. Zeref didn't want to leave Natsu behind.

"You're always worrying about me." Natsu's soft voice broke Zeref out of his daze. Fingers gently traced invisible lines across his damp cheeks. Midnight eyes met again. A million thoughts raced through his head as he kept his eyes locked with Natsu.

Of course he worries. He cared about Natsu ever since the boy came into the home all those years ago. Although Natsu was a couple years older, Zeref had made himself the pinkette's protector. After hearing all what Natsu had been through at the time and meeting him, all Zeref wanted to do was make sure Natsu didn't ever go through that ordeal again. And while Zeref squared off with some of the other boys who took pleasure in torturing them, it was always Natsu who ended up protecting Zeref.

It had taken eight year old Natsu awhile to get used to six year old Zeref trailing after him 24/7, but in the growing years, they grew close. There was just something about Natsu that lured Zeref in, like a moth to light. They had become an inseparable pair.

Until now. Today Zeref was getting adopted by a family member who claimed to have been looking for the boy for as long as he'd lived in the foster home, which was 9 years now. It was iffy how when Zeref became parent-less at the age of two after his parents died in an accident that no one in the family stepped forward up until now.

Natsu would miss the younger boy terribly but he refused to have Zeref stay with him when the boy had family who wanted him.

Zeref wrapped his fingers around the hands caressing his face and brought them away so he could hold them tightly. "I care about you." the boy whispered, eyes locked on with Natsu's.

Natsu felt emotion surge through him as he stared at the dark haired boy. "Zeref..."

Zeref sighed heavily and lowered his eyes to the ground. "I'm not gonna put up a fight...anymore." Natsu hid his chuckle of amusement as he recalled the many tantrums Zeref threw when he found out he was getting adopted. "But that doesn't mean I'm not happy about it." the boy slumped forward until he was laying against Natsu's chest. The pinkette closed his arms around Zeref who shut his eyes.

"I've wanted a family for so long but since meeting you..." Zeref shrugged. "I thought we were one."

Natsu squeezed the smaller boy. "We are. We always will be."

Zeref peered up at Natsu through thick, black lashes. "But I have to go with my real one." it wasn't really a question but Natsu nodded mutely anyway. Zeref grew quiet for a long moment before speaking once more. "I won't forget you Natsu. So don't forget me, okay?"

The pinkette blinked at that before frowning. "You know I won't ever-" Natsu broke himself off when he felt Zeref's cool lips press against his reachable cheek. It was a soft, swift peck, leaving a warm and chill sensation across Natsu's face. Then Zeref was gone out of his arms and standing up, face dusted pink.

"I love you Natsu. Don't forget that." And then Zeref disappeared, leaving Natsu sitting there in a daze.

...

Natsu stared at his reflection.

Pink spiky hair that was soft to touch. An angular shaped face, smooth and clear of blemishes. A soft mouth with a set of pale pink lips. A straight nose. Pitch black eyes accompanied with long, thick lashes.

A slender, taut body. Natsu tipped his head to the side as he realized with a start that he was...short. His slenderness didn't help either, it all made him appear petite. And trust that his appetite is far from 'petite'. Still, he was only 14 so he shouldn't be done with his height. Or so he hoped.

The pinkette closed his eyes and turned away from the mirror. Why he was in the bathroom at one in the morning studying his reflection stumped even him, yet there he was. Although he wanted to sleep, he couldn't. Not without Zeref's comforting warmth nestled against his side. He had put on a brave face for the younger boy but now, Natsu felt utterly alone. Having someone so close to you for many years and suddenly ripped apart from you is lonesome. It's horrible, it's sad. Like someone you cherished died. Gone, just like that.

Zeref's things were gone, just like him. Vanished like he never existed. Natsu stared at the bathroom floor, blinking away tears that had formed on their own. No wonder his vision was starting to look fuzy. Sighing, the pinkette gave one last look at himself in the mirror.

He could see Zeref staring back at him giving him a shy smile. "You're pretty when you smile!"

Natsu tested out Zeref's theory but dropped it. He looked awkward and his smile looked more of a grimace to him. "Nothing like pretty.. and I'm a boy." Natsu shook his head for talking to himself and scolded Zeref in his mind for thinking such thoughts.

But he was in the bathroom testing it out himself. Natsu chided himself as he exit the bathroom, too lost in his thoughts to see the fist flying towards his face.

* * *

><p>"Oi! What did you do to your face?" Igneel demanded as Natsu slid inside the sleek vehicle.<p>

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked innocently while he buckled himself in. Of course he wasn't going to outright say 'Yeah, I got jumped outside a bathroom at one in the morning, no biggie'. Natsu thinks not. A thick finger jabbed gently against a bruised cheek, making him hiss. Igneel frowned deeply.

"That's what I mean and you know it. What happened this time? Was it the same brat?"

Natsu rolled his eyes as Igneel's 'protective dragon' side began to show. Due to both of them loving the mythical creatures, Natsu deemed the title fitting for the giant Chief, especially when he fretted over Natsu. Sometimes Igneel over does it, but Natsu secretly never minds. That's Igneel's way of showing that he cares.

"Mard Geer tends to go overboard with our wrestling."

"Don't lie to me kid."

Natsu sighed and looked out the window. His 'home' still stood outside and he pouted. "Can we please go?"

Ever since Natsu had been put into the home, Igneel made it his duty to see the boy at least once or twice, if he was lucky, a week. That's how, over the years, the two had become very close. Igneel would take Natsu out to a movie, or lunch, or to a theme park. It didn't matter where, Igneel just couldn't leave the boy, Surya's boy, alone. And till this day, he's still trying to get Natsu in his custody. But for now, this was all he could offer.

Igneel grunted. "Not until I know what happened to your face. You make black and blue look faded!"

Again, Natsu rolled his eyes. Crossing his arms, the pinkette slouched in the seat. "Zeref left yesterday. He got adopted."

The words would register later for the Chief. "So his parting gift for you from him was-?" Igneel gestured to Natsu's face. The pinkette glowered. One side of his whole face was an entire different color from the rest of his body. Black, dark grey, and indigo marred his face. His top and bottom lip were both split and his eyes was threatening to swell shut.

"That's not funny, _Chief._" Natsu only used 'Chief' for Igneel when he was especially irritated. The first time Natsu used it on Igneel in an almost insulting way, Igneel had stopped short and stared at the kid.

"You know what kid, you aren't allowed to call me that. You make it sound so insulting."

So of course now Natsu has to use it, but only when he has to show how bad of a mood he's in with Igneel.

"Mard and his goons just trying to act tough. They don't scare me and Miss already talked to them, although she didn't have to, I'm perfectly fine." Natsu continued while he visualized the short stout woman who ran the home. None of the kids know her real name so they all stick with 'Miss', something she's not put off about.

Igneel sighed as he stared at the teen. "Please don't call me that. And what did she have to say?"

Natsu shrugged mildly, ready to drop the topic. "She's like a mother hen." the pinkette gazed out the window. Igneel knew the kid was done talking so he just sighed and started up the car.

...

"Why are we here for?" Natsu asked as he stepped out Igneel's sleek car. Perks of being Chief of a town, you get the instructed car, and then high pay checks to buy luxurious things, such as his most prized possession, his Jaguar XK. The black car glistened under the sun's rays in the parking lot of Magnolia's Musicians.

"I may be Chief, but I have a few hidden talents myself." Igneel boasted, wiggling his bushy eye brows up and down. Natsu followed behind the big man snickering.

"Or really? And what, pray and tell, would that be?"

Igneel glared fondly at the kid. "You know, you got a pretty smart mouth on ya kid. How did that happen?"

Natsu blinked innocently at the other. "You?" Natsu laughed when he found himself in a headlock.

"Me my ass you lil punk." Igneel growled as he ruffled up pink spikes.

...

Natsu had never seen so many instruments in his life! Some he never even knew existed. Igneel smirked at the awestruck Natsu and his open mouth.

"Careful kid or you'll catch flies."

Immediately Natsu clamped his mouth shut before glaring at his current guardian. But Igneel was headed off in one direction, so all Natsu got was his wide back. "Look around kid, this was your mother's second home. Learn to love it."

Natsu froze, watching Igneel disappear with a wave of his hand. His mother? The pinkette looked around the store. He tried to imagine a woman, a little below the average height flitting every where, laughing as she did so. She had long hair, pink as his own. Her laugh was addicting and her voice so beautiful, so sweet... so enchanting-

Natsu blinked. _'How would I know that, she was dead before I met her' _

_**Your fault.**_

Natsu jerked violently and whirled around in a complete 360, heart hammering in his chest.

That voice sounded so hauntingly familiar.

Yet, as he looked around for the voice, he was the only one around. Natsu let out a shaky breath as ugly images from the past he kept locked away began to surface. He shook his head before they could swallow him up completely and frowned, looking around for something to distract him.

He walked around the store, taking in the walls that were painted all white except for the black music notes dancing across the surface. There were rows and rows of expensive looking music equipment. Pianos solely lined one entire wall, different brands, different types, different sculpture.

Natsu chose a random aisle to walk down and found that it was entirely for guitars. All types, all colors, all brands. He touched a few as he walked past them but continued down the long aisle. He turned right and made his way up a different aisle. These were electric guitars. One, a black and blue colored one was out its box on display. The pinkette walked over to it, gravitated by the neon colors and trailed his fingers across the smooth surface.

He gently lifted it from the stand and studied it.

"You act like you ain't seen one befo'."

The speaker startled Natsu and he almost dropped the instrument. Looking up, the pinkette stared at the newcomer. Dressed in all black attire and his single eye brow piercing, Gajeel Redfox looked even more intimidating without the Fairy Tail school uniform.

Natsu stayed quiet, wondering why the sophomore chose to speak to him now or why someone like him was in a music store. Gajeel was a grade above Natsu and the most feared student in the high school. Not just because of his appearance or the rumors (if they were...), it was well known that Gajeel abhorred human beings. He stayed clear away from the rest of the students, choosing to be a loner.

Natsu hummed inaudibly. That was a thing he and Gajeel had in common. They were both loners of the school. Though Natsu didn't choose to, it seemed like the whole school had. For some reason the entire school student body had something against the pinkette. For what reason, he didn't know. Middle school was just as bad for him, but at least the middle school teachers seemed to care more than the high school teachers do.

Gajeel came forward, the chains on his pants clinking. "Oi, dontcha kno' how to speak?"

Natsu frowned. Yes, of course he knew. He was just wondering if Gajeel did, seeing how the older teen was always around when Natsu was being a personal punching bag for the seniors.

"Why should I speak to you when I'm a stranger at school?" the pinkette shook his head while he placed the instrument back on the stand. "I find it funny, in a humorless way of course, that you think it's fine and dandy to talk to me when you deem fit." with that Natsu brushed past Gajeel as if he weren't even standing there. On the outside, as Natsu went by, he looked cool and collected. But on the inside his heart was fixing to jump through his chest.

Basically... he just kind of sort of told Gajeel Redfox off. Something no one has ever done, or has but hadn't lived to tell the story. Natsu let out a breath when he went down another aisle, one that was clear away from Gajeel's and paused.

This row held keyboards and stands. And at the end of the row full of keyboards was the start of wall that had all the pianos against it. While there was a keyboard out of its box for display, and while Natsu wanted to childishly press all the buttons it owned, he found himself drawn to the large piano at the end of the aisle.

Passing the displayed keyboard, Natsu gradually grew closer to the shiny black grand piano and its marvelous white keys that seemed to be luring him in. Upon reaching the beautiful piano, Natsu brushed his fingers across the shiny wood and dipped down towards the silky white keys. The boy closed his eyes at the feeling and felt them all the way across. He smiled, one of his real rare smiles and pressed down on one of the keys.

Even with his eyes closed, that single note burst across his dark vision, lighting up the inside of his closed eye lids. It rang deliciously through his ears and relaxed the air around him. Natsu suddenly felt...so at home. Eyes still shut, Natsu slid his playing finger up, up , up until it brushed against the black and gently pushed down.

The black key made a complete different sound than the white key, but Natsu soon found that each key had its own unique sound. He would love to hear how they could work together, the black and white keys, to make one entire unique sound. He'd never been so drawn to an instrument before but there was something about the piano that lured him in, made him curious to scope out the hidden secrets and sounds the piano owned.

For the next half hour Natsu fiddled with the piano, touching and caressing the keys. It didn't occur to him to inspect the other pianos, nor did he want to, at least not anymore. Natsu finally opened his eyes, his dark orbs glossy as they gazed down at the piano. His eyes fell over the letters engraved above the center of the keys.

** A**

Natsu wondered how much it was. It was then at that moment he looked up and saw the price for the piano taped on the wall above said piano. His eyes bulged comically out of his head at the many merciless zeroes. Hastily he let off the piano, careful as he did so, before walking away quickly. He only glanced back at it once, his face showing much want but he forced himself to keep moving.

Of course for something so beautiful like that would be so high. The teen sighed and didn't notice the pair of twinkling eyes following his retreating figure.

...

Lyra Silver, a pretty young woman at 26, was the owner of Magnolia's Musicians and could always be seen wearing her signature baby blue frilly dress with colorful musical note patterns. Her soft brown hair was waist length, curling at the ends and always covered in her pink bonnet. She owned sparkling onyx eyes that were never dimmed, for she was always surrounded by the one thing she loved most in life: music.

Lyra is pure Magnolian and has spent all of her life devoted to anything connected to music. She's a professional harpist and song writer slash singer, and has experience in other musical instruments such as piano, clarinet, and guitar.

She's a talented young woman with a bubbly, flirty personality and a very kind heart. She comes from a happily dysfunctional family who are all bonded music related, and owns a good nature spirit.

At the moment she was in a conversation with the Chief of the large town, Igneel, when a pink haired teen came into her sight.

Lryra cut herself off when she saw Surya's son coming around the corner. "Oh my.." she smiled kindly at the oblivious teen and leaned forward against the counter. Igneel turned to see where she was looking and frowned at the gloomy aura surrounding the kid. "If he's gorgeous now, how will he be when he's much older?" the brunette teased the Chief as Natsu grew closer to the check out counter.

Igneel gave the store owner a quick look before leaving his items at the counter and turned to meet Natsu. "What's wrong kid?" Natsu grumbled something about being too much money and trudged out the store. "Oi?"

Igneel watched the pinkette leave before turning back to Lyra who was giggling. "My my..." she drawled out in a whimsical tone.

The Chief shook his head at the woman. "Lyra..."

"What?" the woman asked, smiling innocently. She received a knowing look and stuck her tongue out. She swished her slim figure around as she stepped from out the counter. Hands placed on her hips, the brunette winked. "I'm telling ya! He's gonna be a lady slayer in the streets one day! He's already got me, heehee..." the woman added, "Just kidding." after seeing her Chief's look he was giving her. "On a serious note, have you been getting any luck on the Council reconsidering your request to adopt him? I know those hard heads have been causing problems."

The red haired giant sighed heavily while pulling out his wallet. "When are they not? But no, I'm not having any luck at all. Hard heads indeed..." Igneel trailed off when one of the stands holding a variety of items caught his attention. He picked up one that stood out.

Lyra paused ringing the man's purchases when she saw what he held in his large hands. "Ooh, those are extremely handy little things! I have at least ten of them at home full to the brim with quotes, songs, drawings, you name it!" Igneel studied the thick book from back to cover. He then opened it up, revealing crisp white pages that were numbered in bold at the lower right hand side. The numbers went all the way to 500. The man whistled softly.

"And you say you have ten of these at home already full?"

Lyra nodded enthusiastically. "I only have two that are the 500. You know you can customize them, right? That's what my other ones are! I chose the number of pages, the designs and the colors."

"Where can I get them customized at?" Igneel asked, his mind already whirling with growing excitement.

"I'll handle it for ya, no sweat! Here, just write down what you want on it and how, and then I'll have it done." Lyra fished out a blue slip and passed it to Igneel's awaiting hands. "Aaaand the first customize book is always free so don't worry about expenses!"

The Chief grinned. "All right! I like the sound of free." Quickly he wrote down all he wanted done on the customize book before handing it to Lyra. The woman's smile grew more the further she read what Igneel put down, putting two and two together.

"If this is a gift for Natsu-

"Which it is." Igneel supplied.

"-then I'll have this specially made for him." the smiling woman finished as she stored the blue slip safely away. She finished bagging up Igneel's items and he paid before collecting his white bags with music notes littered on them.

"Thank you so much Lyra." the Chief smiled gratefully at the woman who waved her hand fervently.

"No no no, it's always my pleasure Chief! Have a great rest of your day! I'll call you when your order is done, ne? And let Natsu know he is always welcomed here." Lyra's cheerful smile transformed into a soft, sad smile as her dark eyes reminisced the past. "This place was like Surya's second home. I hope it'll give him just as much happiness as it did for her."

Igneel gave the woman a gentle smile. "Of course."

Once more, Lyra's smile went back to cheerful and she waved the Chief out. "Go go, I'll call to let you know."

"Thanks a billion again." with one last wave, Igneel left the store.

...

Walking to his car, Igneel was lost in his thoughts. What a lot of people didn't know was that Surya had Lyra had been fairly close when Surya was alive. The two bonded over their love for music and were always found in the music store when Lyra's grandfather ran it. Even though Surya was three years older than Lyra, she always made time for the harpist and all their musical adventures they had.

The news of Surya's passing hit the town hard, but especially to those who were close at the hip with her. Lyra was devastated when she found out. Although it made her happy with joy that the baby was alive, it was still heartbreaking that her best friend hadn't made it.

Upon reaching his car, Igneel opened the backseat behind his side and set the bags down. Natsu sat in the front chewing on his fingernail. "Oi, that's a bad habit to break, kid." Igneel warned as he closed the back door and opened his. Natsu sent a half pout half glare his way before returning his gazing out the window. "What's the matter? You acted weird back there and I never got to introduce you to Lyra."

Natsu closed his eyes when the car started up and Igneel pulled out the lot. "You said that place was my mother's second home." the question threw Igneel off guard for a moment before he gathered his thoughts. They pulled up to a red traffic light. Igneel looked at the kid.

"Your mother loved everything and anything that had to do with music. I would always find her singing some song or other. She also loved the piano, the grand piano. She had a natural gift and always lifted one's spirit when she sang. She was truly gifted. So yes, her second home is that music store. But to be honest with you, Lyra is the one who can tell you all about your mother and her musical gift. The two were inseparable when in that store."

Igneel zoomed off when the light changed to neon green. Natsu turned to stare at him, eyes slightly wide. "Who's Lyra?"

The man at the wheel rolled his eyes. "Your mother was also a bit ditsy, something you've also adapted."

"Hey!"

Snorting, Igneel made a left turn. "Lyra's family owns Magnolia Musicians. If you met her instead of looking like a happy form of gloom, you would have known. So, back to my original inquiry, what's wrong?"

Natsu looked forward and bit his lip. "Well...I was messing with one of the pianos and I really really wanted it but it was a lot of money. Also, how much do you think it will cost for piano lessons?"

** !**

"WHA-AHHH!" Natsu squealed as he got squished up from Igneel's sudden, and very illegal, U-turn. "What is wrong with you!" the pinkette yelled as he looked at his crazy Chief.

"Determination." was his answer as Igneel calmly drove as if he hadn't made an illegal error.

"Huh?!"

"Focus."

Natsu stared at the red haired man.

"Consistency and Command."

Natsu blinked, his face scrunched up and laced with confusion. "Igneel?"

"You asked what lessons will cost and those are my prices."

Natsu blinked owlishly. Igneel ruffled the kid's spikes. "Listen kid, I may be Chief, like I said before, but I'm not just that; you think your mother was the only musical one?"

"Ne, you play piano?" Natsu asked, sounding awe. He leaned more close to Igneel, eyes flickering brightly, like a wavering candle. "Would you teach me?"

Igneel grinned. "If you abide my prices, then yes."

Natsu sat back in his seat and grinned. If the boy grinned like that more often, he'd have the whole town contagious with it. Igneel smiled. "Focus, consistency and command, and determination, got it! When can we start?"

Igneel turned his engine off and pulled out his keys. Natsu blinked, startled, and turned to look out his window. They were parked in a loop driveway outside a large, beautiful house. Igneel winked when the kid jerked his head back to look at him. "We start now."

And why the hell not? It was his off day and Natsu didn't go to school until tomorrow. He'd have the kid back in time before too long. Besides, it was the first time Natsu would see his house. Yes, even after all the years they spent together Natsu had never been to the Chief's house. They had always gone out to places that held entertainment but now, Igneel thought it was time for change.

And seeing the look on the kid's face, Igneel thought his time for change was better late than ever, for the brightest smile that rivaled against Surya's broke across Natsu's face.


	4. 3

**A/N: **I'm so excited for this chapter! We get more characters, yay! I spent four hours on this and now my eyes are stinging but it was worth it. : )

Everyone knows (or should by now) that I can't write good descriptions, but I tried really hard lol. If people want to see what I had in mind for Igneel's home I'll happily post a link on my profile. Moving on! Last chapter it ate some of my words so some sentences were incomplete and for that I apologize. I've tried changing it but the results are the same. : (

I absolutely love hearing everyone's response, it makes super happy that you're liking my story! :D I'll do my best to keep everyone (including myself) satisfied. I'm sorry that I'm not the author who replies to you all, but I have to make it known that ya'll make this girl happy.

Just a few quick things and then I'll stop lol. I have a couple of time skips or jumps in here, and after one of them (not sure which one yet) I'll be switching to First Person, meaning the story will continue to on in (most likely) Natsu's POV. Maybe a couple others, but mainly Natsu's.

This story is M for a reason! This is the only warning you'll receive unless I put it in the beginning of future chapters. I don't want children commenting 'Omg I'm only 13 and this just scarred me!' Nuh uh, I'm not doing that! I'm not going to stop little kids from reading this but let it be known that _**I'm**_ grown and I can be graphic (especially to 13 and under, good god children) when I want to be! So final warning for that.

After writing up this chapter, I've decided that there's a possible chance that there will be multiple pairings in here, not just Gray/Natsu but Others/Natsu, Gray/Others but straight, lesbian, and gay. So if you're against my preferences or just here for the Gratsu (which will most definitely 300 percent happen but not right away), then please (I don't mean to be harsh) keep your whining to yourself or be patient with me and the pace I've set for the story. : )

One last thing: This story is my baby and I yearn to take care of it every day but I can't. I work, I'm in college, and I'm loaded with dance. So please, don't rush me. I'll update whenever I can my lovelies. I want to every day but I don't have that luxury. :'(

Alrighty, I'm done! I hope you like : )

* * *

><p><strong>Licking Flames<strong>

**3**

Igneel's house was massive but on the inside, it was even bigger. Perhaps it was due to the extra space the man owned for not having too much furniture. That was the first thing Natsu noticed when he walked into the warm house. Of course there was only one person living there so it was expectant. The living room was probably the largest, and is the first room you'd see when walking through the large front double-doors. The room was a dark olive color with white outline. A set of twin black fans owned the ceiling while smacked down in the middle of the room, living on top of a pure white rug, was one of those large L shaped sofas. It was navy blue. Multiple matching colored cushions settled on top of it while a matching large chair was pressed against one of the walls near a glass window. In front of the sofa, set mounted in the center of the wall was an installed 90'' flat screen television. Underneath it was a black stand shelved and fulled to the brim (and organized) with movies, and video games. There was a WII and play station and Xbox all hooked up and Natsu's mouth had watered just a little bit at the sight.

To complete the room there was a white lamp sitting on a round glass table which was put beside the chair and a long rectangular wooden coffee table in front of the sofa. Moving on to the dining room, which was the room across from the living room, there was hardly much, just a square wooden table and a couple of chairs pushed in. The room was colored an earthy green and the floor was bare of carpet, and instead tiled. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, glistening. Moving on to the kitchen, which was pretty large. It had a beautiful island complete with a bar and cushioned stools. The refrigerator was silver and black and massive and, when Natsu opened it, tragically scarce!

"Where's the food?" he wanted to know, put off.

There was a microwave, a large stove, various cabinets and drawers and one large walk in pantry. Also scarce. The kitchen was a soft burgundy color with a couple white ceiling fans littering the ceiling. Moving out the kitchen and into a back hall, there was a long hallway that had a closet, a large wall mirror, and bathroom. The bathroom was nice, navy blue and white. There was a backdoor that lead to the large backyard. Cut clean and a beautiful nature scenery and- was that a pool?! Indeed it was, at closer inspection. A ground pool though it was covered up. And.. could that be-? Yes! A trampoline! Natsu voiced his excitement, amusing his tour guide.

They may or may not have paused the tour to jump for a few minutes.

Upstairs on the second floor (the stairs were carpeted) there was a spacey landing. It split into two directions. One veered as a balcony, a shiny wooden rail with thick white bars that overlooked down to the first floor. Continuing down the strip there was a set of double doors that lead into an office. Igneel's home office. In the other direction there were four doors. One lead to a bathroom, another to a master's bedroom, one to a guest bedroom, and one to Igneel's music room.

Inside the music room, where they spent a good hour and a half, was a black Yamaha U1, a shelf stacked high with music books and sheets, a full keyboard and stand, a drum set, a stereo, and a shelf full of CD's. The room was orange, bright, and warm feeling with a single large glass window with bamboo blinds. Against that, placed underneath the window, there was a cozy plush brown couch with matching pillows littered across the cushions. Igneel seemed to have a thing for carpets because the room had a snow white carpet that was thick, their feet sinking deep into it.

The duo sat on the black leather bench at the piano and Igneel discussed about it, played it for Natsu, taught Natsu, helped the boy learn notes and how to read them. Simple and short pieces were shown and copied by Natsu and Natsu just about had the best time of his life in that room. Igneel studied him when he played, taking in the relax posture and calm, content expression he wore while his fingers danced, albeit clumsily, with the keys.

"You pick up pretty quick, kid." Igneel complimented after they finally left the room to resume their paused tour.

There was another set of stairs that lead up to the third and last floor. Igneel never touched it, for he had all the space he needed with the first and second floor.

He and Natsu stood up there now, the small pinkette staring out one of the windows to see the outside. "So high..."

Igneel laughed as he stared at the kid. "Yeah. It's funny 'cause I never come up here. 'S nothing wrong with the room. I just don't have anything up here. Bu it has a walk in closet, a regular closet, and those doors over there lead out to a balcony."

Natsu turned around, eye brows raised. "On the third floor?"

Igneel nodded. "Wanna take a look?"

* * *

><p>"Your house is huge, especially for one person." Natsu commented for the umpteenth time as he forked macaroni in his mouth. He and Igneel sat at the dining room table around six in the evening. Meaning Natsu had been here for almost four hours, but who was keeping track. He hummed as he chewed the goodness and deliciousness of Igneel's homemade cooking.<p>

Igneel chuckled and wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin. "Yeah, but it's home. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

"I wouldn't either if I had this kind of mansion." the pinkette agreed and took a swig of his cranberry juice.

Igneel raised his eye brows. "This is a house, kid."

Natsu gave him a look. "You sure?"

The Chief laughed and finished his last bite of dinner. "Pretty sure. Crud, what's the time.." the man checked his phone while Natsu put more food in his mouth. "Alright kid, after you're done, I'm taking you back home. I have to get up early tomorrow and you have school."

Natsu frowned around his food, chewing slowly. "Don't remind me." he grumbled, his content mood growing foul. School had never been his favorite place to go to. Preschool was fun... while it lasted. Elementary was terrible, Middle was a nightmare and although he didn't go the rest of the year, the reason was due to his incident with his father. High school was on a whole different level though. Natsu had no idea on what he did to make these students act the way they did towards him but he's been a loner and everyone's personal punching bag ever since he can remember. Besides Zeref, but that doesn't count because Zeref never attended Fairy Tail. And it didn't help that some of the kids from the home went to Fairy Tail as well. Today had been a good day for Natsu, one of the best days in a long time. He already feels the depression sinking in his bones at the thought of returning to his crappy life.

"Come on kid. We both gotta do what we don't wanna do but oh the hell well." Igneel groaned as he stood up and collected their empty dishes (Natsu had finished when he was in his thoughts) and put them away in the dishwasher. Slowly getting up from his chair, Natsu followed the Chief to the front door, watching with slowly dimming eyes as Igneel grabbed his keys from a glass bowl on a shelf he just now noticed that was installed in the wall by the door. The man ushered the pinkette out and locked his house up before making his way to the car.

...

"Listen kid. Today was my only day that I could hang out with you like this. This week is really busy but I promise to try and fit you in. So don't go thinking I deserted you or nothin'." Igneel explained to Natsu as they were parked outside the depressing home once more. Natsu looked at his hands.

"Why won't they let me stay with you?" the pinkette sounded like a small child and Igneel sighed softly.

"We've been over this, kid. That's just how they are. But listen, if those brats in there give you more trouble, let me know and I'll handle it."

Natsu peered up at Igneel, his eyes dark. "And what good would that do for me? I'll only be a target more."

"Natsu-"

"I'm going. I don't want to go but I have to go. I'll see later _Chief_." Natsu moved swiftly, Igneel barely had time to register his car door slamming shut before seeing the small kid almost to the door. He let out a deep sigh and watched Natsu until he disappeared inside the house. With his good mood slightly soured, Igneel zoomed off.

And behind closed doors Natsu was alone with his tormentors.

...

Natsu stared with an apathetic gaze at his reflection in the boy's bathroom on the third floor of Fairy Tail High. He was a mess. His pink hair was more rowdy than usual. His face was cut and bruised from the abuse he endured the previous night. The school uniform was baggy on his slim figure and wrinkly, and he lost the tie so his shirt was split at the collar. He looked rough all over. The pinkette brought one hand to his split lip and gently touched the wound.

"Pathetic." he said quietly against his fingers. He kept his gaze on the mirror, on himself as he stood there for who knows how long. Millions of thoughts ran through his head.

_'What makes me different in a bad way?'_

_'Why am I the constant target?'_

_'What did I do?'_

_'I can't take much more of this.'_

_'I wish she was here. I wish she didn't die. I wish I hadn't caused her death.'_

_**Your fault.**_

_'My...fault.'_

_**Your fault.**_

Natsu closed his eyes and slowly brought his hands up. He could hear all of their cold taunts and jeers.

_'What can I do?!'_

He pressed his hands to his ears and lowered his head slightly. They were all merciless.

_'I'm alone.'_

* * *

><p>It had been a few long weeks since Natsu and Igneel properly hung out together since their last time together. Igneel had been too caught up with work and the Council to hang out with Natsu but he had finally got the time to take off to hang out with the kid.<p>

Natsu had been shocked and happy to see Igneel when he descended down the stairs after Miss called up to him that he had a visitor. It hadn't been the first time for Igneel to stay away from Natsu for so long, but since it hadn't happened in a while, Natsu found himself running to the Chief, throwing his arms around the man.

Igneel had been shocked and pleased while Miss smiled sadly. "He stays cooped up away from us."

The Chief looked down at the head of pink spikes with a frown on his face. "Rough time?" he asked quietly. Natsu pulled away from the man without looking at him and dashed around him and out the front door.

Miss shook her head and sighed, clasping her hands together. "Those older boys are always giving him trouble." she tsked. "I see new bruises on him on the daily but he won't let me do a thing about it. Still, I punish them for harming another under my roof."

Igneel nodded and sighed inwardly. He said his farewell to the woman and left the house. A set of eyes followed him out, dark and angry.

...

"I wish I could live with you. It would be so much better." Natsu whispered once Igneel was in the car with him. Igneel didn't start the car, just stared at the kid who resembled a kicked puppy. "I hate it here! They hate me, they beat me for no reason! I miss Zeref so much, without him I'm alone always! School is just as bad and I don't think I can take it anymore!" Natsu hid his face away into his arms. His shoulders shook and Igneel's heart broke at the sight. He reached over and laid a large warm hand over the pinkette's shoulder.

"Natsu..."

Natsu jerked upright, eyes wide. "I just want to go. Please. I want to go."

Igneel hesitantly retreated from the teen and started the car. "Did you eat breakfast?" Natsu shook his head no. "Oh, I forgot you don't eat in the morning. You should change that, kid."

"I just throw it up." the pinkette mumbled. He slumped in his seat and laid his head against the window.

"Well. Let's grab a bite somewhere and then I have something for you." Igneel said as he pulled away from the home. Natsu looked over at the Chief.

"What is it?" he asked, curiosity laced in his voice.

Igneel scoffed and offered the kid a sly smirk. "You'll see soon."

Natsu perked up a little more after that.

* * *

><p>After getting breakfast from Titania's Sweets and Bakery, Natsu was surprised to find himself back in Magnolia's Musicians parking lot. "Wh-what are we doing here?"<p>

"Come on." Igneel dodged the question and got out the car. Natsu followed suit, hurrying after the man and pressed close to him. Igneel smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Welcome!" a woman's cheerful voice greeted them as soon as they entered the music store. "Ah! Hello Chief! I see you brought him in person, ne?" a woman bounced out from the counter and came around to greet the two, eyes twinkling. Natsu stared at her, feeling a strange (the good strange) pull towards her.

Igneel grinned at the woman before turning to Natsu. "Kid, this is Lyra Silver, she owns this store. Lyra, this is the kid."

Lyra beamed at the pink haired boy in front of her. "It's so nice to meet you Natsu!" she squealed before throwing her arms around him. Natsu's eyes widened when he was suddenly in the arms of a woman he didn't know. His body almost moved on autopilot but he froze, realizing this was the first contact he had with a female like this in a long time. Lyra was warm and she smelled so sweet. Natsu found himself relaxing against her, but his arms stayed down at his sides.

Igneel viewed from the side lines, eyes crinkled with amusement. Sometimes Lyra just couldn't contain herself. After a few more seconds, the Chief cleared his throat. Lyra looked at him but did not release her hold on Natsu. "Nani?"

"Remember why we're here." Igneel reminded her.

Lyra hummed, Natsu, whose eyes had closed, shot open at the beautiful sound she emitted before stepping away when she let go of him. "My my, of course. Right this way Ren!" Lyra froze, eeping softly. Natsu and Igneel had gone still too.

Natsu's eyes were wide. "H-how do you know my middle name?"

Igneel looked at Lyra who was blushing. "My my..." she murmured, staring at the Chief who gave a slight nod, before straightening up and locked eyes with Natsu's confused dark ones. "See... your mother and I were close friends. Most of the time, when she was carrying you, she was here with me. Seeing how we both loved music, this place was naturally the best hang out spot. I remember her one day fretting how she couldn't think of a perfect middle name for you. She had already decided on Natsu but she was making herself sick over a middle name. Of course she was at her last couple of weeks with you and she was panicking. So when the name 'Ren' popped into my head and I pictured her son, looking just like her with pink hair and big eyes, running around being cute and adorable and I just..." Lyra gave a little embarrassed shrug before wringing her hands together. "She fell in love with it, as did I and still do, and bam! There you go."

Igneel stared at the pinkette's face, slightly amused to find the natural tan color flushing pink. "S-so you knew her?"

Lyra nodded with a smile. "Very much so, yes. And I was right; you take after her so much, it's almost scary." Lyra walked up to Natsu and touched his face with gentle fingers. Natsu found himself leaning against her touch, earning a smile. "Well, how about I get what you came here for? Follow me to the front counter if you will!" the woman spun around with a whoosh, her dress swishing around her legs as she did so.

Igneel and Natsu followed behind. "Sorry it took awhile, I wanted it to be flawless!" Lyra sang 'flawless' while she gently set a package down on the counter top. She nudged it towards Natsu who accepted it hesitantly.

"This is for me?" he quipped, looking up at her and then Igneel.

"From the Chief himself!" Lyra winked. Natsu couldn't help the smile he felt coming on as he stared at the wrapped gift. Slowly he began to tear the paper off and unfold the bends to discover his hidden gift. Once everything was off, Natsu found himself staring at a notebook.

But it wasn't just any notebook.

Natsu's eyes widened. The first noticeable detail was the intense, vivid flames covering the thick book. The longer he stared, the more it seemed that the flames were dancing, licking up at him heatedly. The second thing he saw was that, upon looking closely, the flames were formed into a face. A dragon's face to be exact. Although the piercing yellow eyes that seemed to look right through him and snarling mouth were only visible, Natsu knew. Of course he knew. Dragons still remained as his favorite creature.

He touched the cover, pausing when he ran over a slight bump. It was a pen (or pencil) holder and in place was a black pen with an actual flaming red dragon wrapped around it. Natsu's mouth fell open. Igneel and Lyra looked at each other, matching smiles on their faces. Natsu opened up the notebook to reveal the first page. The first thing his eyes were drawn to was the bottom right hand side of the page. The number one was in bold letters with flames circled around it, like how kids would draw yellow wavy lines around their sun.

The pages themselves were white, crisp, and clean with straight black lines going across. Natsu flipped through the pages, taking in its wonderful scent it gave. He reached the end and his eye brows perked up as he read the last number. "One thousand is a lot of pages." he finally commented before closing the notebook up. He looked up at the two adults and grinned. Lyra almost fell over in shock at how bright her shop suddenly was for split second from the boy. Igneel captured the look and stored the picture in his memory before laughing when Natsu threw his arms around him.

"Thank you. I love it." Natsu breathed out against Igneel's shirt and Igneel patted the head full of pink spikes.

"Good. Listen kid, I got this here for you so you don't have to feel alone. Writing is therapeutic for lots of young people. Quotes, stories, even drawing. There's nothing even wrong with stick figures." Natsu chuckled softly. "The main importance of this is for you to have something to turn to when I'm not there and you're feeling suffocated. Carry it around you, Lyra does with hers. Tell him Lyra."

Natsu felt touched at Igneel's words and turned his attention to the woman who magically swung out a little blue journal. She waved it around gently. "I have so many of these things, they're fun to fill up. What I like most about them is that I get to re-read everything I jot down. It's scary how much you can forget if you don't document anything. I'm constantly like 'Did that really happen?!' Hah ha, this one is the one I carry around. It has countless of lists, quotes, even reminders in here. Sometimes you'll get a crazy thought and think 'Hey! I should write this down' and boom! Just fish it out and write down your crazy thought and move on."

Natsu laughed and nodded, agreeing. "I'll definitely will do that, thank you so much."

"Of course sweet pea!" Lyra beamed.

Igneel pulled Natsu, who looked much better than before, to his side. "Thanks a lot Lyra. How much do I owe you?"

The woman waved her hand. "Oh please. The only thing I want is for Ren to use all those delicious pages up!" she didn't notice her slip up, but the other two had. However, Natsu just smiled. It was okay, as long as it was only her who called him that. In a weird way he felt like she had that right, seeing how she basically named him. Or at least his middle name.

"We're going to head out, but we'll visit again." Igneel promised as he began to lead Natsu away.

"Have a good rest of you day! Oh, and Re- Natsu! Don't feel like you can only come in here with Chief, stop by any time you want. My hours are on the door so write them down!" Lyra waved and Natsu waved back.

"I will! Thank you so much." Natsu smiled and turned, following Igneel out the store. Lyra watched them go with a smile.

* * *

><p>True to his word, Natsu wrote down the hours and days of Lyra's shop before hurrying after Igneel to the car. Natsu was never opposed to writing, he just never did, so now he had the perfect opportunity to do so. He was excited which made Igneel think he made the right decision. Natsu grew even more excited when they pulled into Igneel's loop driveway.<p>

"I have to do a few things in the office but you don't mind chilling here, do you?" Igneel asked and Natsu shook his head no.

"You know this is where I want to be." the boy practically jumped out the car and ran to Igneel's front door. Igneel himself laughed while he got out the car and made his way to the pinkette. Unlocking the door, the two entered the large house. Plopping his keys in the glass bowl, Igneel removed his shoes and made his way to the kitchen.

Natsu followed suit but instead of heading to the kitchen, he went to the living room and sprawled out on the L shaped couch. His body sank into it comfortably and he opened up his notebook that had been in his hands ever since it was given to him and looked down at the hours he wrote down.

Miss wasn't very strict, she was a reasonable caretaker. If Natsu ever wanted to go visit Lyra, all he had to do was ask Miss and let her know what time he'd plan on being back. He smiled to himself. He wouldn't just have his book now in case Igneel was busy, he would also have Lyra. And she knew his mother so if ever wanted to learn something about her... although Igneel knew his mother too. In fact, the Chief was probably closer to his mother than Lyra was.

But for some reason, Natsu felt awkward asking about his mother to Igneel. He didn't think on this too much and instead focused on his open notebook. He was at a clean page and his fingers wrapped around the pen twitched, ready to write.

But what?

Igneel came out the kitchen carrying two plates. He set one plate down on the coffee table for Natsu. There was a sandwich, chips, and a brownie (from Titania's Bakery) covering the plate. A glass full of cranberry juice followed suit. "Here, kid. I'll be upstairs if you need me."

Natsu felt warm. It felt like he and Igneel were an actual family. He nodded his thanks and picked a chip up while Igneel headed for the stairs. Eating the chip, Natsu picked up his pen and began to write.

* * *

><p>Natsu found himself with Lyra Sunday evening. The store had just closed and Natsu had been there for almost three hours already. He'd messed around on the piano, playing one of the pieces Igneel taught him. He found where the harps were and asked for Lyra to play for him. She submitted (how could she not when his large eyes pleaded with her like that) and Natsu was almost brought to tears at the beautiful sound.<p>

Customers had come and gone, it was a peaceful day. Now, Lyra and Natsu were lounging on the counter top leafing through one of Surya's notebooks that Lyra had saved. The first thing Natsu fell in love with was his mother's cursive handwriting. It was so elegant and clean, precise and perfect. The next thing was that the notebook was full of songs. Beautiful lyrics that his mother came up with. She truly sounded like a special person.

"Surya was so organized. She had four of the one thousand page notebooks. One for lyrics, one for poems, one for her thoughts, and one for quotes. The only ones she completed was this one and the poems." Lyra explained as Natsu's eyes read up yet another page.

"Do you have them?" the pinkette asked, staring up at her with his doe eyes. She had to restrain herself from hugging him and answered.

"I have all of them. But, if you don't mind, I'd like to keep them here so they won't get ruined. I'll go get them for you to see if you'd like?"

Natsu smiled. "Thank you for taking care of them for so long. No, don't worry about it. Maybe another time. I'm stumped at how she pulled out all these words and made them into something like this." Natsu picked up the plain white notebook with black stripes and showed Lyra a page full of Surya's beautiful hand writing.

" 'Lullaby'." Lyra read, eyes tearing up slightly. "Of course." she said softly. "This was the song she wrote for you."

Natsu blinked. "For me?"

Lyra nodded. "I remember it. It was my favorite song she ever wrote."

"Can you sing for me?" Natsu asked, sitting up straighter on the counter. Lyra laughed nervously.

"Oh no, I wouldn't-"

"Please?"

Lyra met his eyes before caving in. "Okay, Ren."

Natsu smiled at that. Lyra had been calling him by his middle name which he never disliked when it came from her. Lyra slid off the counter and wiped her dress clean of invisible dirt before taking a soft breath.

_**'Like a ship in the harbor'**_

_**'Like a mother and child'**_

_**'Like a light in the darkness'**_

_**'I'll hold you awhile'**_

Natsu sucked in a breath at the angelic voice Lyra possessed.

_**'We'll rock on the water'**_

_**'I'll cradle you deep'**_

_**'And hold you while Angels'**_

_**'Sing you to sleep'**_

When she finished softly, Lyra opened her eyes which had closed and blinked the tears she had streaming down her face away before gasping when Natsu's arms went around her.

"Thank you." he whispered against her, eyes closed and face hidden away in her dress. She felt something wet trickling into the cloth and damp the area of the dress. Lyra felt a tremor go through Natsu and her heart clenched. The boy's grip on her tightened and in return she closed her own arms around him, holding him close against her. "Thank you..." she heard him repeat thickly.

Her reply was hugging him tighter.

That night, after Lyra dropped him off, Natsu copied down his mother's Lullaby lyrics to his notebook before closing it up and pushing it under his pillow safely. He laid down and began to hum the tune he heard Lyra sing before singing the lyrics quietly to himself until he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Gray Fullbuster didn't necessarily hate high school. No, it was just the dumb idiots running around in the school that he hated. All of the drama, the girls, the drama girls conjured up, dramatic girls... just girls in general. Squealing, giggling, blushing, flirty girls. Of course, they only flocked to him due to his broad background. Being the son of two successful parents (one being a lawyer, the other a music artist), the brother to an aspiring and well known actress and of course, being the nephew of Celestial King, the owner of Fiore's Celestial Label, one of the best record label out there with astounding artists (including his father) would definitely do the trick to get all the attention he's receiving and has been since he was a little kid.<p>

Not only that, but the entire Fullbuster/King family was full of attractive members. We're talking about 'Gods' and 'Goddesses' attractive. Gray couldn't deny his good looks even if he tried to. Honestly, it was a curse. So what that he had a pale porcelain complexion with dark features a.k.a hair, eyes, even personality. So what that people say he's growing up to be a lady killer or that his pale pink lips would look even better if he started to smile more. So what that at fourteen, his body was already well built for his age or that his 5'11 height made him even more attractive. What the hell did height have to do with attractiveness, Gray didn't know nor care. Besides, his entire family was tall. That went for the King family as well.

While Gray's family count consisted of four members, his cousin Loke, son of Cel, had eleven siblings. Including his parents, the King family had fourteen members. And for some odd reason, Cel decided, since he was practically the richest man alive next to Fiore's Founder, Toma E. Fire, he could name all of his children after astrology.

It was weird, but Gray loved his cousins and uncle, even if they all did complicate his life. It seemed like since his whole family was famous, Gray was automatically famous as well. It's been that way for as long as he can remember. Everyone knew Gray but Gray didn't know a single name. It was tiresome and it made him angry that they only flocked to him for his fame status. And honestly, it wasn't even his fame. It was his family's. But did that stop the people?

Gray looked around the group of girls that were around him squealing and giggling. One somehow got her dainty hands on his arm. His eye brow twitched. _'No.' _he answered himself and closed his eyes, calmly counting to ten. Before he reached eight, the girls let out deafening shrieks in his ear, cutting him off.

"Loke! Oh my god oh my god!"

"EEK! He's soooo cute!"

"Excuse me ladies." the flirty purr his cousin emitted made Gray re-open his eyes. Loke casually squeezed through the wall of girls that were blushing and stammering as Loke 'Leo' stepped up next to Gray. Gray would never understand why his cousin encouraged the stupid girls. Then again, it _was_ Loke, the boy who stated the girl crazy stage early than most. For as long as Gray can remember, Loke was always a flirt. There was a time when they were six and at the park playing with some girls. When they had to leave, six year old Loke slicked back his orange spiky hair and winked (with both eyes...) at one of the girls. "See ya later sweet thing."

One of his sisters, who had taken them, smacked him.

That smack did nothing for Gray's stupid favorite cousin.

The dark haired teen merely rolled his eyes at Loke's antics and turned to his open locker. Loke leaned against the one next to Gray's and winked (one eye shut this time) at the group of girls. "Mind giving us some space?"

The girls scattered immediately, giggling and sighing over the fact that Leo 'the Lion' (because he's a king in bed apparently...) winked so sexily at them. "You know, girls would love you less if you keep that frown on your face." Loke told his cousin who remained impassive as he gathered the correct books he needed for his first class.

"But seeing how he's constantly frowning and the girls still chase after him, you're wrong." a new voice chimed from Gray's unoccupied side. Loke peered around Gray who didn't even acknowledge the second speaker.

"Shut up Sting."

The vibrant blonde known as Sting stuck his tongue out at Loke. Sting Eucliffe was a freshman like Gray and Loke. The trio of have been best friends since kindergarten days, but unlike Gray and Loke, Sting didn't come from a fancy background. He was an only child raised by a single mother who he loved dearly. They were by no means wealthy but his mother worked hard for the both of them and made sure he received the best education ever, something she never got when she was young. Sting worked hard on his grades, earning every A and B he deserved. His goal was to complete High School, for himself and for his mother since she hadn't due to being pregnant with him. His father was a deadbeat and irrelevant. Other than that though, Sting was a likable, funny guy. How he'd become friends with sons of the most famous people in the industry was beyond him, yet simple for Gray and Loke.

Sting didn't like Gray for his family's fame status. He liked Gray because of who Gray was. Which was what he told Gray when Gray accused him of other motives by trying to be friends with him. After Sting explained that Gray was crazy thinking he'd just like him 'cause his parents had "dough" ("They're famous, not just rich with dough, Sting" -Gray, age 5 ~ "Same thing!" -Sting, age 5) and proved himself of having no ulterior motives, Gray accepted Sting as his "best friend" (Sting, age 5).

Loke accepted Sting automatically because of Gray. Whoever Gray liked, Loke liked too. And after getting to know Sting himself, Loke can say Sting really is his best friend. And being best friends to famous people's kids, Sting was also made popular. But popularity never mattered to him, so really, nothing changed.

Ignoring the whispers and stares people sent their way, the trio began walking down the hall, Loke in the center (as always), Gray on the left and Sting on the right. Girls called out to them, mostly Loke's name left their flirty lips but neither Gray nor Sting cared. Gray sighed when they finally made it to their home room. It struck a funny cord how they (Loke, Sting, and Gray) always managed to be in the same classes. They were a little early, but there were still students already in the classroom. Said students sat up straighter in their chairs when the trio entered the room.

Loke nodded to them while Sting followed Gray to the middle row of chairs and sat down next to the ravenette. While Loke dragged a blushing girl into a flirtatious conversation, Sting leaned in close to speak to Gray who had his elbow propped up on the desk with his chin on his hand.

With bright blue eyes alight with joy, Sting began with, "I was up all night writing new lyrics." Gray glanced over to show he was listening. Sting grinned, eyes closing with content. "I've been writing up a storm lately and I think I've got two pretty good ones. I want you to read them."

The dark haired teen offered the slightest of a smile for the blonde. "Okay." Gray understood how much Sting loved to write, particularly lyrics. The blonde loved putting words together and making meaningful connections between them. It's what relaxed him when he got stressed, which surprisingly, is almost always. Yes, Sting always wears a smile but he wears it to hide his true emotions. Gray remembers the time when they had a true heart to heart that sealed the deal of them being best friends. It was back when they were 12 and the first time they saw Sting's house after Loke invited himself and Gray over. Although Sting agreed, Gray could sense the boy's hesitation.

Sting had been to both of their homes before, mansions to be exact, and there was an embarrassing (or so Sting thought) difference between their homes and his which was why he didn't really want them over. Loke had made some insensitive comments like "Where's the maids?" and "You don't have personal chefs?" that had Sting gritting his teeth and yelling defense for his mother who had been making the boys dinner.

His mother scolded him, though she was warm from her son's protectiveness (even she knew Loke hadn't meant any harm with his words), and Sting had fled from the room, flushed with anger and embarrassment. When his mother went to go after him, Gray stood up (after smacking the back of Loke's head) and offered to go instead. He looked the most determine to go so she allowed it, wondering what Gray would do.

Gray had found Sting hiding in his small closet in his small bedroom and calmly sat on the ground, wrapping his arms around Sting. "This doesn't change anything you know. So don't go feeling like something did. You know Loke wasn't trying to be mean, he just can't help that he's dumb. Honest."

Sting was shocked to say the least that Gray actually came after him. Even more when Gray trapped him in a hug. Not that Sting minded, he loved hugs. So he hugged Gray back, sniffling while he did so. "I-I know that but still... you guys have more than me than you can imagine. I'm not complaining but it's hard sometimes. My mom works hard for me. She gives me everything I need! So what if I don't have a personal chef or maids? My mom's cooking is the best ever and I'm a good cleaner! So there!" Sting huffed in Gray's arms and Gray laughed softly, and instantly the tense in Sting's body evaporated. Instead he went slack against the other, quietly taking in his laugh.

"I agree with your mom being the best cook but you and cleaning? Have you seen your room?" Gray teased lightly, pulling away to stare down at Sting's pout.

"I can clean." the blonde grumped.

"Sting. You'll always be my best friend no matter what. I know it's hard for you but you're strong and my best friend. Everything will be okay." Gray said quietly, seriously. "Remember how you said you liked me for me? Without my parents' fame?" Sting nodded. "Well, I like you for _you_. Money won't ever be a problem coming between us, got it?"

Sting blinked in surprise at first, his big blue eyes round. And then, he gave a watery smile and pushed his body to Gray's. "Got it!"

And two years later, the two (three with Loke) could label themselves as brothers instead of best friends. Gray can't remember when or how Sting picked up on writing lyrics, but ever since the blonde did, he always shares his work with Gray and no one else. Usually the lyrics seemed related to Sting himself and that made Gray feel even more special (secretly) than he did because it was like Sting was sharing an intimate part of him.

"I'll show them to you at lunch." Sting promised with a grin. Gray just nodded while Loke sauntered up in the conversation.

"Show him what?"

"Nothing! So did you get that girl's number?" Sting questioned, but really, Gray knew it was to veer Loke off their topic. It worked (like always) and Loke began his boasting. Luckily, their home room teacher Hibiki Lates came in so the boasting stopped and the teaching began.


End file.
